A week before the NBA draft, top prospect Joel Embiid has been diagnosed with a fractured foot, likely profoundly impacting what goes down next Thursday.

Embiid had proven to teams he was completely recovered from the back injury that ended his lone NCAA season at Kansas early, and had seized momentum and emerged as the favourite to go No. 1 overall to Cleveland.

But Cavaliers doctors discovered that the 7-footer from Cameroon had a new, potentially major issue.

“Joel Embiid suffered a stress fracture to the navicular bone in his right foot,” said Embiid’s agent, Arn Tellem, in a statement. “He is scheduled to have surgery (Friday). Joel will be unable to participate in any additional workouts, and will not attend the draft in New York. We will have no further comment until after the surgery.”

What a turnaround. Seen as a once in a generation big man with a massive upside, since he is relatively new to the game, Embiid now has a major medical red flag.